Memorable quotes for
The Sword in the Stone (1963)

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Madame Mim: Sounds like someone's sick. How lovely. I do hope it's serious. Something dreadful.

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[last lines]
Merlin: Why, they might even make a motion picture about you.
Arthur: Motion picture?
Merlin: Oh. Well, that's something like television... without commercials.

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Merlin: [to the sugar pot] Impudent piece of crockery.

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Merlin: Blow me to Bermuda!
[Merlin suddenly blasts off like a rocket]
Arthur: Where... Where did he go?
Archimedes the Owl: To Bermuda, I suppose.
Arthur: Where's that?
Archimedes the Owl: Oh, an island way off somewhere that hasn't been discovered yet.
Arthur: Will he ever come back?
Archimedes the Owl: Who knows? Who knows anything?

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[preparing for the Wizards' Duel]
Madame Mim: Now, first of all, if you don't mind, I'll make the rules.
Archimedes the Owl: Rules, indeed. Why, she only wants rules so she can break 'em.
Madame Mim: I'll take care of you later, featherbrain.
[Archimedes huffs indignantly]
Madame Mim: Rule One: No mineral or vegetable, only animal. Rule Two: No make-believe things like, ooh, pink dragons and stuff. Now, Rule Three: No disappearing.
[pinches Merlin playfully on the nose]
Merlin: Rule Four: No cheating.

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Merlin: Now Mi-Mim, n-no dragons, remember?
Madame Mim: Did I say no purple dragons? Did I?

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Archimedes the Owl: Oh, Man will fly all right. Just like a rock.

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Merlin: Big news, eh? Can't wait for the London Times. Next edition won't be out for another, oh, twelve hundred years. Archimedes, would you mind sailing down there and...
Archimedes the Owl: Not interested!
Merlin: Oh, come, come, come, come now. You're as wet as you can get.
Archimedes the Owl: No! No, no, no!
Merlin: Archimedes, I'll turn you into a human.
Archimedes the Owl: You wouldn't dare!
Merlin: I will, so help me I will!
Archimedes the Owl: All right! All right!
[Archimedes leaves]
Merlin: Works every time. Just like magic.

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Sir Ector: [on Archimedes] Ah, I get it! You've got him under a spell, Marvin. You're a magician, eh?
Merlin: The name is *Merlin* and I happen to be the world's most powerful wizard!
Sir Ector: [laughing] Come off it, man! Gadzooks, ha-ha-ha...!
Merlin: All right, I shall demonstrate.
[clears throat]
Merlin: Higitus, Figitus, Migitus Moe, Wind and snow, *swirl and blow*!
[snow billows out of the end of Merlin's wand and covers Sir Ector]

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Sir Ector: Oh, no, you don't. I'm the master of this castle, and if you think you're going to fiddle with my schedule, then you've better pack up your bag of tricks and be gone!
[Merlin disappears]
Sir Ector: By Jove! Hey, he's gone.
Kay: Good riddance.
Merlin: [disembodied voice] I'm gone, but then, I'm not gone. So if I do leave, you can't be sure that I am gone, can you?
Sir Ector: Well, I guess you got me there, Marvin. You win. You're welcome to stay if you like.
Merlin: [appearing suddenly] Thank you, sir. You're very kind. Very generous, I must say.

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Sir Ector: I hope you don't go in for any of that black magic.
Merlin: Oh, no, no. Never touch the stuff.

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Sir Pelinore: It's not just a mere show of muscle, my boy. Jousting is a fine skill. A highly-developed science.
Merlin: Science indeed! One dummy trying to knock over another dummy with a bit of a stick.
Archimedes the Owl: And the Wart is just as hot for it as the rest of them.
Merlin: Aye, That he is. That boy has a real spark. Lots of spirit. Throws himself heart and soul into everything he does. That is really worth something, if it could only be turned in the right direction.
Archimedes the Owl: Ha ha! Fat chance of that.
Merlin: Oh, I intend to cheat, of course. Use magic. Every trick in the book if I have to.

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Merlin: [about Archimedes] When he stays out all night, he's always grumpy the next morning.
Arthur: He must stay out every night.

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Arthur: Meriln! Merlin, I swallowed a bug!
Merlin: Oh, well, what's wrong with that? After all, you are a fish. Instinct, you know.
Arthur: But you said I have no instinct.
Merlin: Oh, I did. Well that's neither here nor there.

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Archimedes the Owl: Now then, boy. Flying is not just some crude, mechanical process. It is a delicate art. Purely aesthetic. Poetry of motion. And the only way to learn it is to do it.

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Merlin: Madam, I have not disappeared. I am very tiny. I am a germ. A rare disease. I am called malignalitaloptereosis... and you've caught me, Mim!
Madame Mim: What!

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Merlin: It's nothing too serious. In a couple of weeks you should be as good... I mean, as bad as ever. I would suggest that you get some rest and lots, and lots of sunshine.
Madame Mim: I hate sunshine! I hate horrible, wholesome sunshine! I hate it! I hate it! I hate, hate, hate...!

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Merlin: Now, Archimedes. Why would you half-drown yourself for a tidbit of fish, and after such a big breakfast?
Archimedes the Owl: Pinfeathers and...
[puffs up suddenly]
Archimedes the Owl: ...golly fluff!

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Beginning singer: A legend is sung, of when England was young, and knights were brave and bold. The good king had died, and no one could decide who was rightful heir to the throne. It seemed that the land would be torn by war, or saved by a miracle alone. And that miracle appeared in London town: The Sword in the Stone.

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Narrator: And below the hilt, in letters of gold: "Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil is rightwise king, born of England." Though many tried for the sword with all thier strength, none could move the sword nor stir it. So the miricle had not worked, and England was still without a king. And in time, the marvelous sword was forgotten. This was a Dark Age, without law, and without order. The strong preyed upon the weak.

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Arthur: Oh, Merlin! You're back from Ber... Ber...
Merlin: Bermuda? Yes, back from Bermuda and the 20th century. And believe me, you can have it. One big modern mess!

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Madame Mim: Say, lad, did you know that I can make myself uglier yet?
Arthur: That would be some trick - I mean...
Madame Mim: Wanna bet?
[hides face with hair, pulls hair back to reveal a warthog's face]
Madame Mim: Boo!
Arthur: Oh!
Madame Mim: You see? I win, I win! Aren't I hideous, boy? Perfectly revolting?

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Arthur: Oh, what a perfect stuffed owl.
Archimedes the Owl: [huffing] Stuffed... I beg your pardon?
Arthur: He's alive, and he talks!
Archimedes the Owl: And certainly a great deal better than you do!

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Merlin: [covering Sir Ector with magical indoor snow] That is what I call a "wizard blizzard".
Sir Ector: [shivering] Hey, Kay, would you look at this? An indoor blizzard! And in the month of July!
Kay: So what?

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Merlin: [teaching Arthur to swim as a fish] Now, lots of ups and downs like a... like a helicopter.
Arthur: [confused] Helicopter?
Merlin: Yes, yes... oh. No, never mind.

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Merlin: Don't take gravity too lightly or it'll catch up with you.
Arthur: What's gravity?
Merlin: Gravity is what causes you to fall.
Arthur: Oh, like a stumble or a trip?
Merlin: Yes, it's like a stumble or a- No, no, no, it's the force that pulls you downward, the phenomenon that any two material particles or bodies, if free to move, will be accelerated toward each other.

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Merlin: There, you see? I'm an ugly, horrible, grouchy old man!

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Archimedes the Owl: If the boy goes about saying the world is round, they'll take him for a lunatic.
Arthur: The world is round?
Merlin: Yes. Yes, that's right, and it also goes a-round.
Arthur: You mean it'll be round someday.
Merlin: No, no, no, it's round now. Man will discover this in centuries to come. And he will also find that the world is merely a tiny speck in the universe.
Arthur: Universe?
Archimedes the Owl: You're only confusing the boy. Before you're through, he'll be so mixed up, he'll... he'll be wearing his shoes on his head!

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Arthur: But I'm supposed to do it.
Merlin: No one will know the difference, son. Who cares as long as the work gets done?

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Arthur: I'm in an awful pickle. I'm king!
Archimedes the Owl: He pulled the sword from the stone.
Merlin: Ha ha! Of course, of course. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
Arthur: Round table?
Merlin: Oh, would you rather have a square one?
Arthur: Oh, no. Round will be fine.

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Arthur: You mean you know everything before it happens?
Merlin: Yes, everything.
Archimedes the Owl: Uh-uh-uh-uh! Everything, Merlin?
Merlin: Uh, uh... No, no. I must admit, I did not know just whom to expect for tea. But as you can see, I figured the exact place.

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Merlin: Now, don't you get any foolish ideas that magic will solve all your problems, because it won't.
Arthur: But sir, I don't have any problems.
Merlin: Oh, bah! Everyone has problems. The world is full of problems.
[gets his beard caught in the door]
Merlin: Oof! There you are! You see what I mean?

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Merlin: So you must plan for the future, boy! You've got to find a direction! You've... oh, er... By the by, which direction is this castle of yours?
Arthur: I think is north, the other way.
Merlin: Oh.
[Mumbles]
Merlin: All right then. We've got to get a move on. Let's pick up the pace. Pick it up! Pick it up! Pick it up!

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Merlin: Archimedes, where... where are we?
Archimedes the Owl: In a tumbled-down old tower in the most misearble old castle in all Christiandom. That's where.
Merlin: Ca... castle?
Archimedes the Owl: Don't you even remember the boy?
Merlin: Boy?
Sir Ector: [outside, to Kay] Can't you remember one blasted thing?
Merlin: [to Archimedes] Now, just a moment...
Sir Ector: Firm grasp on the lance!
Merlin: Oh.

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Arthur: I'll get the arrow, Kay. I'm sure I can find it.
Kay: Don't tell me you're going in there. Why it's swarming with wolves.
Arthur: I'm not afraid.
Kay: Go ahead, then. It's your skin, not mine. Go on, go on.

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Merlin: [Struggling with a well] A dark age, indeed! Age of inconvenience! No plumbing, no electricity, no nothing!
[Slips and almost falls into the well]
Merlin: Oh, hang it all! Hang it all!
[Starts to leave, but his foot is caught in the chain]
Merlin: Oh, leave off! Leave off! You... you fiendish chain, you! Everything is disorganized! One big medieval mess!

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[Merlin turns Arthur back into a human and Arthur laughs, which causes the girl squirrel to gasp.]
Arthur: There, now you see? I'm not a squirrel, I'm a boy.
[the girl squirrel chirps as if asking a question.]
Arthur: I tired to tell you. I'm a boy. A human boy!
[the girl squirrel climbs up to a knot on her tree and sniffs.]
Arthur: Oh! If only you could understand.
[the girl squirrel runs up to the hole in the tree and cries her heart out as Arthur remorsefully walks away.]
Merlin: Ah, you know, lad, that love business is a powerful thing.
[the girl squirrel watches Arthur slowly walk away from her hole and sobs.]
Arthur: Greater than gravity?
Merlin: Well yes, boy, in its way...yes, I'd say it's the greatest force on earth.
[the girl squirrel climbs to the top of her tree to get once last look at Arthur and sobs one last time as the screen fades to black.]

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Sir Ector: There you are! What's the meaning of casting your evil spells all over the place? Help me up, boy.
[Kay helps Ector up]
Sir Ector: Now, what do you have to say for yourself?
Merlin: You call washing dishes and sweeping floors a work of evil?

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Arthur: [singing, as a fish] for every to, there is a fro, for every stop there is a go and that's what makes the world go round
[he stops as a frog grabs his tail]
Arthur: Hey, let go, let go!
[pulls his tail free]
Arthur: Oh you big bug-eyed bully you!
Merlin: Who, *me*?

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Castle Scullery Maid: You old goat! If I ever catch you in my kitchen again...
Merlin: Madame, you won't!
[disappears]

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Sir Ector: Cheers!
Sir Pelinore: Cheers!
[they clink glasses, causing them to break and spill wine over Kay's head]
Kay: Watch it, wi' ya?

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[Sir Ector and Kay rush down after the Maid to see plates washing by themselves, and brooms and mops sweeping the floor by Merlin's magic while he and Wart have sneaked off]
Sir Ector: [thundering the words] GADZUKES! BLACK MAGIC OF THE WORST KIND!

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Kay: [Wart is following Kay while he is hunting. Kay turns to him] Qyyyyyyieeeet, Waaaaart!
Arthur: [from a tree brach over Kay's head] I-I-I'm trying to be
Kay: And nobody asked you to come along ion the first place
Arthur: I'm not even moving
Kay: [Dismissively] Shuddup

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[repeated line]
Arthur: Whoa-wait! Whooooaaaa!

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Arthur: We were doing fine until we got into deep water. Then along comes this huge pike with sharp, jagged teeth.
Kay: Tell 'im off, dad.
Arthur: He was a monster, the biggest fish I ever saw.
Sir Ector: And, boy, that's the biggest fish story I ever heard!
Arthur: But it's true, sir.
Sir Ector: That's three demerits for bing late, and three more for the fish story. Now hop into the kitchen. Hop it, come on, hop it!
Kay: I told you the Wart was looney.
Sir Ector: Either he's out of his head, or there's something mighty fishy going on around here.

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Kay: We should run that old geezer right out of the castle.
Sir Ector: Oh, no, no, no, Kay, no. He might cast an evil spell on the lot of us. Turn us all to stone. There's no telling what the old devil might do.
Arthur: He's not an old devil! He's good, and his magic is good, too!
Sir Ector: Now look here, Wart! That's three demerits!
Kay: Box his ears, dad.
Arthur: Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's bad!
Sir Ector: Ten more demerits!
Arthur: You make all the rules and no one gets to say anything!
Sir Ector: You said aplenty, boy! All that popping off just cooked your goose! Kay, from now on, young Hobs is your squire. You hear that, Wart? Hobs is going to be Kay's squire.
Arthur: Y-yes, sir.
Kay: That'll teach to to pop off, you little pipsqueak.

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Madame Mim: Now what do you think, boy? Who's the greatest?
Arthur: Well, Merlin's magic is always... uh, well... useful, for something good.
Madame Mim: And he must see something good in you.
Arthur: I suppose so.
Madame Mim: Yes, and in my book that's bad!
[Closes window]
Madame Mim: So, my dear boy, I'm afraid I'll have to destroy you.
Arthur: D-destroy me?
Madame Mim: Yes, I'll give you a sporting chance. I'm mad about games, you know.
[Turns into a cat]
Madame Mim: Well, come on, boy, get going. You have to stay on your toes in this game.

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Archimedes the Owl: Wha-what's up, boy? What's going on?
Arthur: They're having a Wizard's Duel. What's that mean?
Archimedes the Owl: Oh, it's a battle of wits. The players change themselves to different things in an attempt to... to... destroy one another.
Arthur: D-d-des-destroy?
Archimedes the Owl: Just watch, boy. Just watch. You'll get the idea.

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Archimedes the Owl: So from now on, you do as I say.
Arthur: Yes, sir.
Archimedes the Owl: Now then, to start off, I want you to read these books.
[Points to a huge pile of books]
Arthur: All of them?
Archimedes the Owl: That, my boy, is a mountain of knowledge.
Arthur: But I can't read.
Archimedes the Owl: What-what? What? And I suppose you don't know how to write, either?
Arthur: N-no, sir.
Archimedes the Owl: Well, what do you know?
Arthur: I...
Archimedes the Owl: No matter. No matter. We'll start at the bottom, the ABCs.

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Arthur: [Enters Merlin's room wearing his squire robes] Merlin, look! I'm a squire!
[Merlin scoffs]
Archimedes the Owl: Oh... very nice, boy.
Merlin: Yes, indeed. A fine monkey suit for polishing boots.
Arthur: It's- it's what all squires wear.
Merlin: And I thought you were going to amount to something. I thought you had a few brains! Great future. Ha! A stooge for that big lunk Kay. Congratulations, boy!

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Merlin: Higitus Figitus Migitus Mum! Prestigitonium! Higitus Figitus Migitus Mum! Prestigitoni-UM!

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Arthur: You were really great, Merlin. But you could have been killed.
Merlin: It was worth it, lad, if you learned something from it.
Arthur: Knowledge and wisdom are the real power.
Merlin: Right you are, Wart. So stick to your schooling, boy.
Arthur: Oh, don't worry, I will, sir. I will. I really will.

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Archimedes the Owl: Pinfeathers and Gullyfluff!

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Arthur: Jumping hogtoads!

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